FUN WITH SCHOOLIES
Schooling bass don't get very big, but they're sure fun to catch, and there are lots of them in some of the bayous and oxbows during the summer. Add topwater plugs to the occasion, and you can get in on some truly exciting fishing action in these backwaters at this time of year.

Last fall I had the pleasure of fishing with Capt. Ronnie Doucet of Cajun Outback. We had a ball watching bass blow up on a new topwater soft plastic from ReAction Lures called the Ribbit. I found this frog to be quite easy to fish, and attractive to the bass, which hit it with vigor.

"That's one of the key lures we've been catching our bass on," Doucet said. "It's pretty much weedless, and fishes a lot like a buzzbait -- and the bass just eat it up."

While evacuated from Hurricane Rita, I met up with a friend to fish the Red River, and threw the Ribbit in a winding cut early in the morning. I hammered the bass. Most of them were in the 1/2- to 1 1/2-pound range, but I had a very enjoyable time with them. Many bass of that size will be encountered throughout the system, quite of few of which will take surface lures like the Ribbit, Tiny Torpedoes, white 1/4-ounce spinners and small buzzbaits.

Look for schools of shad in the bayous, especially in the cuts intersecting the main body of water. At this time of year, a combination of moving water and shad will bring about the conditions you want when seeking schooling Red River bass.

Speed too is important. The smaller bass act completely different from their larger, wiser relatives: They're willing to work harder to get what they think is food. Working surface plugs with a fast retrieve can prove extremely profitable; you'll very likely get more strikes than you would by fishing as if you were after a big fish. When the bass are schooling, you're not going to catch any monsters -- so enjoy the ride and fish for little guys with as much zeal as you would for their grandparents.

A BRIGHT FUTURE
Officials with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries keep the Red River stocked with largemouths of the Florida variety. The Red River Waterways Commission donated $50,000 to the LDWF Foundation, which then distributed the funds to the LDWF for the stocking of 58,000 Florida bass fingerlings into the river last December.

An LDWF press release noted that the bass are pure Florida-strain largemouths certified to be entirely free of largemouth bass virus. The 5- to 7-inch fish, considered Phase II fingerlings, are being released to help introduce their superior genetic traits to the Red River, which will in turn result in larger bass for local anglers.

Quoted in the same release, Tim Morrison, LDWF program manager, said, "LDWF is very grateful for RRWC's generous donation that will improve the bass population in the Red River. These Florida largemouth bass will improve both the quantity and quality of the catch, which is great news for Louisiana anglers."

RRWC officials point out that the LDWF stocks millions of Florida-strain largemouth bass into Louisiana waters each year. With the LDWF continually stocking this unique and productive river system, the future for bass and bass anglers looks promising indeed.